Kindred Souls
by Queenbean3
Summary: Ed and Al are headed to Rush Valley to get repairs from Winry again, only this time they're traveling with another pair of siblings. But they're not the only ones looking for new auto-mail. Manga based, slightly AU, contains two OCs.
1. Crossroads

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing related to FMA. The only things in this story that are mine are two OCs and the plot. Speaking of plot, this is closer to the manga then the anime, and is slightly AU like the novels. Hopefully that won't bother anyone too much. Now read and enjoy!

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Chapter One: Crossroads

Ed flipped open his pocket watch and glared at it. The time was one minute later then it had been the last time he looked at it. He glanced up at the huge clock mounted on the wall to his right. It read the exact same time, three forty-six.

"Brother, checking your watch over and over isn't gonna make the train come any sooner." said the large suit of armor seated on the bench next to him.

Ed stowed the watch back in his pocket and groaned. "Yeah, I know that, Al. But all this waiting is so boring!" He stretched his arms over his head and propped his feet up on his suitcase. "You'd think I'd be used to sitting around in train stations by now, but there's just nothing to do until the train shows up."

Al's huge metal shoulders creaked as he shrugged them. He wasn't one to complain, but he was just as bored as his brother. They were in the East City train station waiting for the four o'clock train to Rush Valley, and absolutely nothing interesting had happened since they had arrived there. "I guess that's what we get for showing up an hour early." he said.

Ed made another whining noise and folded his arms behind his head. "If I'd known we were gonna be waiting this long, I would've eaten a bigger lunch."

The fact that his brother was hungry again did not surprise Al one bit. "In that case, why don't I go get some snacks while you keep watching the clocks?"

Ed frowned but nodded his head. "Sure, go ahead. Just don't get lost, cuz I don't wanna have to get up and come looking for you."

"I'll try to remember that." Al said with a chuckle in his voice. With some more creaking noises, he stood up and left the bench.

Suddenly Ed sat up and turned around to call after him. "Don't even think about buying _milk_ again! That wasn't funny the first time!" Al just waved his arm at him, and Ed thought he could here the sound of boyish giggling coming from inside the armor. Frowning again, he returned to his former position and reached for his pocket watch again. Three forty-seven. Sigh.

After another minute had passed, Ed was about to open his watch again when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around in his seat, expecting to see Al there. "That was quick …"

He stopped when he realized it wasn't his brother he was talking to. Instead it was a young man dressed in the typical blue uniform of a soldier with a suitcase in one hand and a newspaper in the other. He looked rather young to be soldier, perhaps only a few years older then Ed himself. He had scruffy brown hair and brown eyes that looked confused. Then he smiled crookedly. "I was about to ask if this seat was taken, but I guess you already answered me."

Ed just frowned in annoyance. "Whatever. Sit down if you want, just be ready to get up when my brother comes back."

As soon as the young man sat down, Ed began ignoring him. He stared at the clock on the wall for a while, watching the second hand make its away across the face. Again he took out his pocket watch and groaned. The time was still the same.

"Hey, is that a State Alchemist watch?"

Ed snapped the watch shut and looked at his new bench mate with arched eyebrows. He wasn't totally surprised by the question, since the watch's emblem was unique and right out in the open. "Of course it is. What's it to ya?"

"Nothing," the young man said, sensing some irritation in Ed's voice. "I just thought you looked a little young to be a State Alchemist, is all."

Ed bristled at the word 'little', even though it was not used in an insulting context. "For your information, I'm fifteen." he said indignantly. "And _you_ look a little young to be a soldier."

He had intended that statement to be an insult, but the young man chuckled as if he had taken no offense from it. "Got me there. I'm eighteen, actually, and I'm not a soldier yet. I'm still just a cadet."

"Oh, yeah?" Ed said, finding his new bench mate slightly more interesting now. He looked at the older boy's uniform a bit closer and noticed the signs that confirmed his low rank. "Then why are you at a train station instead of boot camp?"

"Because of this." the young man said. He rolled the right sleeve of his jacket up to the elbow, and Ed's eyes grew big with surprise. The older boy's arm was an automail prosthetic. "The mechanic at the fort was too busy to fix it," he explained. "So they're shipping me out to Rush Valley for repairs."

"Rush Valley?" Ed echoed, not realizing that his surprise was becoming more obvious. "You're kidding! That's where _I'm_ going!"

Now the young man looked surprised too. "Really? What for? Don't tell me you've got automail, too!"

Ed grinned and rolled his right sleeve up to show off his fine piece of machinery. "Take a good look, buddy! Best piece of automail in the world!"

The young man gawked in surprise, and then blinked as something occurred to him. "Wait a minute…You're a teenage State Alchemist with automail…That means… You must be Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist!" Ed scratched the back of his head to feign modesty, but the older boy was already grabbing his other hand in a surprisingly strong grip and shaking it with great gusto. "Wow, I don't believe this! It's great to meet you in person, Mister Fullmetal! I'm Isaac Wagner!"

"Er, nice to meet you, too, Isaac." Ed replied when he got his sore, non-automail hand back. "And you don't have to call me Mister Fullmetal, Ed is fine."

Isaac's delighted grin was close to splitting his face in half. "Okay! I'm sorry for geeking out like this, but I've never met anyone famous before! Wait until the guys back at the base hear about this! They're never gonna believe I met the Fullmetal Alchemist while I was gone!" Then he paused and looked around curiously. "Hey, aren't you supposed to have a brother who's always with you, a great big guy in a suit of armor?"

"Yeah, Al's around here somewhere." Ed answered, using his calm voice and hoping the older boy would follow his example. "He went to go get some food, he should be back soon."

"Cool!" Isaac said, gradually coming down from his high. "So, you guys must be going to Rush Valley because you need your automail fixed, too, huh?"

Ed nodded. "Yup. My mechanic works there. She's not gonna be happy that I messed it up again."

There was some quiet for a moment. "Um, if you don't mind me asking," Isaac said at length. "How _did_ you mess it up?"

Ed grinned with embarrassment and laughed awkwardly. "Eheheh…Well, you see, that's kind of a funny story…"

Meanwhile, in another part of the station, Al had found a food vendor and was paying a few coins for a box lunch. Once he had done so, he checked inside to make sure there was no milk in it. Thankfully, there was a small bottle of fruit juice instead. It might have been funny to see the look on Ed's face if there had been a milk bottle next to his apple and sandwich, but Al didn't want to put up with the yelling that would come afterward.

With his mission accomplished, Al started back toward the platform where Ed was waiting. The station was getting more crowded now, and he remembered why he and his brother had decided to come to the station early. Now that it was closer to the train's arrival time, more people were rushing to get their tickets at the last minute. Even for him, standing nearly seven feet tall, it was hard to get through the crowd.

Suddenly something banged against his back. Surprised, he turned around to see a girl crouched on the ground holding her nose in pain. Next to her was an open suitcase with its contents spilled all over. "Oh my gosh!" Al cried, dropping to his knees. "I'm so sorry, miss! I didn't see you!"

The girl gave a dry smile and a nervous chuckle. "That's okay, I didn't see you, either."

This statement was a bit confusing to Al. He was a giant walking suit of armor and the biggest thing around. How could she have not seen him? Then he noticed that her eyes looked glassy and unfocused, and there was a wooden cane lying on the floor next to her open suitcase. The truth hit him like a ton of bricks. She was _blind_.

Feeling even guiltier then before, Al began stuffing her clothes back into her suitcase. "I…I'm really, really sorry about this! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, it's just a little bruise!" she insisted, searching the floor with her hands for her cane. When she found it she hooked it around her elbow and started feeling for her other things.

By chance her hand landed on one of Al's leather gauntlets. He froze and looked at her again. She seemed to be in her early teens and had brown wavy hair that reached past her shoulders. Her sightless eyes were also brown, but a milky film over them gave them a pale gray tint. At the moment those eyes were aimed at him. He couldn't help thinking that she was incredibly cute, and for a moment he was afraid that she really could see him and his scary-looking faceplate.

Then she shut her eyes, blushed and pulled her small hand away from his. "E-excuse me, I didn't mean to…"

"N-no, that's okay!" Al said quickly. He shoved the last piece of clothing into the suitcase, snapped it shut, and held it out to her. "I-I put your stuff back inside it! I promise I didn't take anything!"

"Thanks…" Still blushing, the girl found the handle and took a firm grip on it. She used her cane to stand up again and was about to hurry away when something seemed to dawn on her. "Actually, I wonder if you could help me with one more thing…"

Al stood up, clutching the cardboard lunchbox for Ed between his hands. "Oh?"

"I'm a bit lost." the girl said. "My brother's supposed to be waiting for the train to Rush Valley, but I don't know how to get to the right platform. If it's not any trouble, could you…?" She trailed off, her face turned down with embarrassment.

Al's spirits leapt a mile high. "It's no trouble at all! My brother's over there, too, we can go there together!"

The girl smiled brightly. Then she looked nervous again. "Okay, then, um…Could I hold onto your arm? I … I haven't been here before, and I don't want to get lost…"

Al's mind reeled from her request. A pretty girl was asking to hold his arm? This was a totally unprecedented event in his life! So what if she was blind? Not once had a girl requested such a thing from him, not even when he had been in his normal body. "Sure, of course!" he said, praying he didn't sound too eager.

She giggled, held out one hand to find his great steel forearm and took a firm grip on it. Mustering all of his courage, Al began to walk forward. He took shorter strides then usual so the girl could keep up. She was quiet now, her sightless eyes closed and a small smile on her face. He tried to think of something charming to say, but all he could think of was pointless small talk.

"So, um, what does your brother look like?" As soon as the words came out he wished he could take them back. He went on, hoping he hadn't offended her. "Uh, that is, can you describe him to me?"

"Sure." The girl said this as though she hadn't even noticed his first question. "He's three years older then me, so he's taller, and he's got brown hair like me." She turned her face up then, her eyes still shut. "Thanks a lot for helping me like this. I hope it's not any trouble for you."

"No, no, it's fine!" Al insisted. "I like helping people. Hey, I could hold your suitcase for you, if you want."

She giggled and shook her head. "That's nice of you to offer, but I can handle it. I don't want to keep you from your brother too long."

They arrived at the platform then and Al began scanning the area for a boy who matched the description she had given him. He spotted Ed on his bench, and he appeared to be having a conversation with someone sitting next to him. Someone who was taller then him, and had brown hair, and appeared to be wearing a soldier's uniform.

"Hey, is your brother in the army?" Al asked the girl.

"He's a cadet in training." the girl answered. "Why?"

"I think I see him, sitting on the same bench as my brother."

She stopped walking then and held very still. Al looked at her, a bit confused, until he realized that she must be trying to listen for her brother's voice. Just then the brown-haired boy on the bench burst out laughing, and her eyes flew open.

"That's him! That's Isaac!" Al was about to take her to the bench, but she had already released his arm and was running with her cane in one hand and her suitcase in the other. "Isaac! Isaac!" she called.

The boy on the bench turned his head and had a shocked look on his face. "Helene?!" he said, jumping to his feet. "What the heck are you doing here?!"

His shocked voice led her straight to him, and she answered by throwing her arms around him and pushing her face into his chest. Once again the suitcase fell to the floor, snapped open as soon as it hit the ground and spilled her clothes out again. Al sighed.

Ed, meanwhile, had also gotten up and was staring in confusion at the boy being hugged. "Isaac, who's this? Your girlfriend?"

"What?! _No!" _Isaac shot back. "She's my little sister, and she's _supposed_ to be at home!" He directed that last phrase at the girl, who now was feeling his right arm and shoulder worriedly. "Helene, how did you get here? Mom must be worried about you!"

"I took a cab, of course!" Helene said with annoyance. "And it's _you_ that mom's worried about, you dolt! She'd be here, too, if she didn't have to work!"

Ed then noticed Al kneeling on the floor putting the girl's belongings back into her suitcase. "Al, do you _know_ this chick?"

"Yeah." Al replied, looking at him only briefly as he handled her dresses, skirts and blouses with more then a little embarrassment. "We kinda bumped into each other by the food vendors. Oh, here's your food, by the way. There's no milk inside, I checked."

Ed took the box that was offered to him and looked back at the Wagner brother and sister. Helene was waving her finger at Isaac now and he was trying in vain to shush her. "Why didn't you call us? We had to hear about your automail problem from some stranger on the phone!"

It was pretty funny watching the small girl berating the tall boy, and Ed tried to suppress a snicker. The noise got the girl's attention and she seemed to remember something. She turned her head to the direction where she could hear Al's armor moving. "Oh! Is this your brother here?"

Al was holding her repacked suitcase now and standing by the bench with the others. "Yeah, this is him. Ed, meet Helene. Helene, meet Ed."

"Um, hi, Helene." Ed held his hand out and expected her to take it, but she was doing the same thing with her hand. Then he noticed that her eyes were shut and came to the same realization Al had earlier. Helene was blind and did not know he was holding his hand out to he took hold of hers she began to shake it politely, and Ed tried to think of something to say that was not related to her blindness. "I, uh, I just met your brother Isaac a little while ago. Seems like we're both having automail problems today!"

Helene held his hand a little longer, noticing that it felt like harder then a normal hand. "Really? Well, thanks for keeping an eye on him for me. He always gets into trouble when I'm not around."

While his sister was talking to Ed, Isaac had been staring at Al with wide eyes. Al noticed this and looked back at him, feeling all kinds of awkward. "Er, you must be Helene's brother... I'm Al, she asked me to help her find you…"

"You're Alphonse Elric!" Isaac exclaimed, his face breaking into a grin again. Right away he was giving the same enthusiastic handshake to Al that he had given to Ed. "Wow, it's great to meet you in person! Thanks for taking care of my sister! Hey, Helene, do you have any idea who was just helping you? This guy is Alphonse Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist's little brother!"

Helene turned to Isaac with a confused expression. "His little brother? But … are you sure? Ed seems so much smaller then him!"

Ed took his hand away from her and was about to yell something angry but Al took a firm grip on his shoulder and shook his head at him. Isaac quickly pulled his sister aside and tried to do some damage control. "Don't say that! Don't you remember the stories? He hates it when people make comments about his height!"

Helene's cheeks turned pink with embarrassment. "Oh … s-sorry, Mister Fullmetal, I didn't mean to be rude…"

The apology eased Ed's anger enough for him to fold his arms and grumble. "Forget it. And call me Ed, not Mister Fullmetal."

Al was relieved that the situation had been resolved peacefully and set Helene's suitcase on the bench. He decided now was a good time to bring up a less touchy subject. "So, I guess this means all four of us are going to Rush Valley, huh?"

"What?" Isaac said, stiffening all over. "Oh, no, no, no. My little sister is _not_ coming to Rush Valley with me."

"Oh, yes I am, Isaac." Helene said. "Mom sent me to keep you out of trouble, and she'll get mad if you send me back." She turned her head toward where Al was standing and smiled. "Besides, I think I'd like to get to know the famous Elric brothers better."

Ed arched a confused eyebrow at the strange girl, and Al began making shy, boyish motions with his hands. Isaac looked at them desperately, hoping they would say something to discourage his sister. When they didn't, he smacked his hand against his forehead, certain that she was doing this just to drive him crazy.

Shortly after this, the train to Rush Valley pulled into the station. As the Wagners and the Elrics boarded the train, Helene realized something was wrong. "Hey, where's my suitcase?"

"Don't worry, I've got it." Al said, who was standing right behind her in the aisle.

"Oh, thanks, Alphonse!" she said, smiling brightly at him as she held her brother's arm.

Al chuckled and rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. "It's nothing. And please, call me Al."

Meanwhile, Isaac leaned over and whispered something to Ed, just low enough that Helene couldn't hear it. "Be glad your brother isn't a girl."

A picture of his huge armor brother wearing a frilly dress and pink ribbons popped into his head. Ed tried not to burst out laughing and failed.

_To be continued..._

Author's Note: Hey there, fearless readers! I am your author, and I have some announcements to make. First of all, this story is not meant to stick too closely to the series canon or alter the ending of a story that is not finished. It's just me playing in Hiromu Arakawa's world and hoping I don't screw it up too much. Besides the Wagner siblings, there's very little material here that I made up. Even the bad guys who will show up in the later chapters aren't my creations, but who they are is for me to know and you to find out. So if you liked what you've seen so far, stay tuned!


	2. Sympathy

Chapter Two: Sympathy

The train route from East City to Rush Valley was almost five hours long, with three stops in between. Ordinarily Ed would have spent that time stretched out on his seat fast asleep while Al would count the cows and sheep that passed outside. But with the Wagner siblings sitting with them it was impossible to do any of this.

For the first ten minutes after the train left the station the brother and sister continued to bicker about Isaac's carelessness with his auto-mail and Helene's persistence in tagging along with him. They even got loud enough for a steward to come over and tell them they were disturbing the other passengers with their noise. Then they decided to give each other the silent treatment and focused on pretending the other wasn't there. Helene had the window seat and was frowning at the glass she could not see through, and Isaac had his face hidden behind his newspaper pretending the weather report was interesting.

The tense silence made Ed and Al feel rather uncomfortable. It was unusual for them to have companions when they traveled, and it seemed strange to be sitting with people without talking with them. Ed decided to use this quiet time to eat the meal Al had bought for him, so his mouth was busy chewing a ham sandwich. Therefore it was Al who finally decided to start a new conversation.

"Um, so, have you guys always lived in East City?" He asked this to no one in particular, but he hoped Helene might answer. He didn't get many chances to talk to cute girls his age, particularly ones who weren't put off by his giant metal exterior.

But it was not to be. Isaac lowered his newspaper enough to look at the large suit of armor and answered his question. "We're originally from New Optain. We moved to East City about ten years ago."

"Really? We've been to New Optain before, haven't we, brother?" Al nudged Ed slightly, urging him to participate.

Ed picked up on his brother's hint and swallowed the piece of sandwich in his mouth. "Oh yeah, but we were just passing through from Youswell. Seemed like a nice place, though. Kinda reminded me of Resembool, only not as green."

"We've never been to Resembool. Is that where you guys are from?" Isaac asked.

Ed nodded his head. "We were both born and raised there. So was Winry, my auto-mail mechanic."

"Is she the mechanic you're going to see now?"

"Yup. She moved to Rush Valley a while ago, to learn from the pros. Hey, that reminds me. Isaac, who's going to fix _your_ arm?"

Isaac set his newspaper in his lap with a frown. "I don't really know…The guys at the base didn't tell me who to look for."

Ed snorted and rolled his eyes. "Pff. You can't just trust _anybody_ to fix something as important as your auto-mail. You'd think the military would be smart enough to tell you that."

Just then Al had an idea. "I know! Why don't you come with us to see Winry?"

Ed inhaled so hard that he nearly choked on his food. "What?! No way!" he exclaimed. "Al, you _know_ how Winry is! Once she sees Isaac's arm she won't be able to keep her hands off it! She wouldn't get around to fixing _my_ arm until who knows when!"

"But who else could fix it for him?" Al calmly pointed out. "The only other mechanic we know in Rush Valley is Mr. Le Court, and you know how _he_ is."

Ed groaned. Why did Al have to be right all the time? It seemed Winry was Isaac's only option for repairs, which meant the Elrics would be staying in Rush Valley longer then they first planned. That would slow their quest down, something Ed did not want at all. Then again, it would be wrong to deny Isaac the help he needed. The cadet in training probably needed to return to boot camp at a certain time, and would get in trouble with his superiors if he didn't make it. And his little sister was with him, too. Their mother would doubtless be worried about her if she didn't return home soon.

"Oh, the heck with it!" Ed sighed and waved a hand at Isaac. "It's your arm, take it where you want!"

Isaac grinned and launched into another bout of geeky admiration. "Thanks a lot, Ed! It would be so cool to get my auto-mail fixed by the same mechanic as you! Then we can be auto-mail buddies!"

"Yeah, yeah, don't mention it." Ed said, intending the statement literally.

Al could have jumped for joy. Having Winry fix Isaac's arm meant that he would have the chance to spend even more time with Helene. As the older boys continued to talk, Al just sat there gazing at the girl with unabashed hope in his eyes. She seemed to be listening to the boys now and there was even a hint of a smile on her face. For most of the trip Helene kept her blind eyes closed, but occasionally she would open them and let them drift about as if she were looking at things no one else could see.

Sometimes they paused briefly on one of the boys talking, but they settled the longest on Al who was sitting straight in front of her. He almost wondered if the blindness was all an act and that Helene really could see him in his monstrous body, but if that were true she didn't show any signs of fear or revulsion. Did she really like him as much as he hoped she did? Was she thinking the same things he was? Had she really meant it when she said she wanted to get to know him better?

If Isaac had known Al was thinking any of this about his little sister he might have said something about it, but he was far more interested in whatever Ed was talking about.

"So, Isaac," Ed was saying. "How'd you wind up with auto-mail, anyway? You get beat up by the older recruits or something?"

Isaac blushed and scratched his head. "Er, not exactly…See, there was this training exercise where we had to defuse a bomb and, well, obviously I didn't do it right!" Hearing this, Helene rolled her sightless eyes upward and wondered why in heaven's name her brother was freely telling people about his own stupidity.

Ed nearly choked on his sandwich again, this time from laughing. "Hah! Oh, man, that sucks! How did you mess it up this time?"

The older boy turned even redder. "Um … catching a live grenade …" This time Helene closed her eyes completely and shook her head, still unable to believe Isaac was actually talking about this.

Ed doubled over and laughed even harder. "Bwa hah hah! That sucks even _more!"_

"Yeah, no kidding!" Isaac said, laughing off his embarrassment. "At least it stayed in one piece this time! Hey, Ed, you told me how you broke your auto-mail, but you didn't say how you got it. What kind of accident did you get into?

Ed stopped laughing instantly. He had to make up a lie and fast. "Er, that's top secret military info! If I told you I'd have to kill you!"

Isaac shrugged and snickered. "Fair enough. Can I ask you something else, then? If you're an alchemist, why can't you just use alchemy to fix your auto-mail?"

This was a much safer question to answer. In fact, it was the kind of question Ed loved to answer because it allowed him to show off his scientific genius. He bit into his apple and chewed, answering between bites. "Cuz alchemy doesn't work that way. For one thing, I'd have to know auto-mail as well as a mechanic. But I still couldn't transmute any missing parts."

"Why not?" Isaac asked. "Can't alchemy create things out of thin air?"

It was Al's turn now to feel embarrassed about his brother. He shook his head and sighed deeply, knowing exactly the lecture that was coming.

"No." Ed replied, in full scholar mode now. "That goes against the Law of Equivalent Exchange. 'To obtain, something of equal value must be lost.' That means alchemy can't create something from nothing. It only works if the right materials are around to transmute." He swallowed the fruit in his mouth and held the half-eaten apple up. "For example, I'm taking pieces out of this apple as I eat it. If I want to put the apple back together, I need all of its pieces to do it. But since I've eaten them already, that's impossible."

"Oh…" Isaac said, looking at the apple and trying to process Ed's explanation. "So you need a mechanic to repair your auto-mail because you don't have the right pieces?"

"Exactly!" Ed said with a grin. "Congratulations, you just learned the first basic principle of alchemy! Add about ten more years of study and you're on your way to becoming an alchemist yourself!"

"Hah, I don't think so!" Isaac laughed. "I never had a head for books. It must take longer then ten years of studying to become a State Alchemist. Hey, what exactly do State Alchemists do?"

Ed took another bite of his apple before he answered. "Oh, lots of different things. Research, experiments, pretty much whatever we want, unless someone higher in the chain of command gives us orders." He grimaced at this point, as if the fruit in his mouth tasted bitter. "That's why we're called Dogs of the Military. If someone calls us to war, we have to drop everything and go. They even sent a whole bunch of State Alchemists to Ishbal!"

All of a sudden Isaac's face went pale and his jaw went slack. Then he looked down at his boots, his eyes hidden behind is brown bangs. His entire body seemed to have gotten heavier and was sagging on the bench like a sack of wet flour.

Ed frowned. This was not at all like the tall, smiling boy's previous behavior. "Uh … did I say something wrong?"

Helene, who had remained silent by the window all this time, now put a hand on her brother's shoulder. When she spoke her voice was solemn. "Ed …We lost our dad in Ishbal."

Ed's stomach twisted itself into a knot so that he didn't feel like finishing his apple anymore. Al's mood became sullen as well. The two brothers knew exactly the kind of pain Isaac and Helene were feeling. They thought of Winry, who had lost both her parents in the war, and how much she had cried when she heard the news. They even thought of the loss of their own mother. She had not been killed in the war, but her death had still been the most devastating event of their lives.

For a long time the four of them remained silent and listened to the noise of the train. Outside the scenery was changing to a dry and rugged landscape and the sun was sinking lower and lower, while the temperature inside their car was going up. Ed became hot enough to strip off his red coat. Then he began to doze off and finally slumped against Al's side fast asleep. Helene also drifted off, her head resting on Isaac's shoulder. He had one arm around her and was still wide awake. His face was still very serious, but it was hard to tell just what he was feeling.

It would have been nice for Al to escape into sleep like the others, but the nature of his body prevented this. Like Isaac he was wide awake and felt the dark clouds hanging over them getting heavier. He tried to think of something to say that would lighten the mood, but none of the things he thought of seemed right.

It surprised him when the other boy looked up at him and spoke. "Al…can I ask you a question?"

Al sat up straighter. "Um, sure, go ahead."

Isaac hesitated for a moment. He looked at his sister to be sure she was asleep, then looked back at the large suit of armor across from him. "I've heard that alchemists aren't allowed to bring back the dead. Why is that?"

This simple question hit Al with the force of a falling anvil. It wasn't hard to guess why Isaac had asked him this, but it was nearly impossible for him to come up with a decent reply. He sat there staring blankly at the older boy, trying to gather his thoughts enough to give a proper answer. "Because it's … it's really dangerous. Transmuting humans is the most dangerous thing an alchemist can do ...That's why anything related to it is against the law."

He paused, seeing that Isaac did not yet understand. He needed to hear an example, like when Ed had used the apple to explain the Law of Equivalent Exchange. Fortunately Al remembered something that could illustrate his point; the tale of the city of Xerxes.

"Thousands of years ago, there was an alchemist who tried to bring someone back to life, but his whole city was destroyed in the process." Al lowered his head and stared down at his body, the product of a similar experiment that had gone horribly wrong. "Ever since then, alchemists have said that no one should ever try to transmute a human being…or terrible things will happen."

The story was enough for Isaac to understand. He lowered his head as well. Again there was only silence between the boys for a long time. Again it was Isaac who broke it first.

"My dad…" he began, his voice tired but steady. "When he went to fight in Ishbal, we all got really scared. We didn't want him to go away and not come back." He raised his head slightly, revealing an expression of the sort of grief that never truly left. "But he said he was doing it for us ... If he could help win the war, it would make our lives better."

He looked at his sister, still fast asleep on his shoulder. A small smile formed on his lips. "I guess that's the same reason I decided to be a soldier. I wanted to make a better life for my family, too."

Al looked at the older boy. For the first time he saw Isaac looking at Helene with affection instead of annoyance, the kind of affection only a big brother would have. He was willing to risk his life in battle for her sake, and already had a prosthetic arm to prove it. Not so different from his own big brother, who was currently snoring on his arm.

Suddenly Ed's head jerked upward and his eyes blinked open. "Brother?" Al said in surprise. "What's wrong?"

Ed yawned. Then he made a very serious announcement. "I have to pee."

He got up from his seat and shuffled into the aisle, yawning even more as he went. When he was gone, Al and Isaac couldn't help snickering to each other. Just like that the dark mood hanging over them was gone and everything was fine again.

Then Isaac started yawning. "Why don't you get some rest?" Al suggested. "It's still a couple more hours until we get to Rush Valley."

Isaac rubbed his eyes with his knuckles. "What about you? Aren't you tired?"

Al shook his head. "Nah, I'm used to long train trips like this. Besides, somebody's got to wake you guys up when we get there."

"Okay, then. Here, you can read my paper if you get bored."

Isaac handed the rolled up newspaper to him before resting the side of his head against the top of Helene's and closing his eyes. When Ed came back, Al was busy reading it.

"Ugh, I can't take another minute on this thing." Ed complained, flexing his sore arms and legs before sitting down next to his brother. "I swear all feeling in my butt is gone. Hasn't anyone ever thought of putting _cushions_ on these crappy old seats?"

Al didn't have anything to say about this. He had found something in the paper that was rather unpleasant news. "Brother, I think you better see this." he said seriously.

Frowning, Ed looked at the article Al was pointing to. The headline read 'Terrorist Group Escapes from Prison', and underneath it were pictures of some very unsavory characters. One man in particular stood out from the others. His right eye was covered by a patch, his long hair was pulled into a ponytail, and he wore a mustache and short beard. There were also burn marks on his skin, which looked like odd gray splotches in the photo.

Ed stared at that picture for a long time. "I swear I've seen that face before…" he muttered aloud. He read the first few lines of the article, which stated when and how the terrorists had broken out of prison and that their current whereabouts were unknown. It also listed the names of the men.

Ed recognized only one of them, the group leader. His eyes grew wide in shock. "_Bald??_ Isn't he the guy who hijacked the train we were on that one time?"

Al waved his finger in front of his face to shush him. "Shh! Yeah, I remember that. We had to fight him and all his men to save the passengers. Colonel Mustang sent them all to jail when it was over."

Ed scowled at the newspaper. "Looks like he did a lousy job, as usual. If I know that lazy bum, he's gonna send _us_ out to catch these guys."

"Then it's a good thing we won't be back in Central for a while, huh?"

Ed's head snapped upward with a big grin. "You're right! We _won't_ be back in Central for a while, thanks to these two!" He pointed to the sleeping Wagner siblings across from him.

"Well, it was _my_ idea to take them to Winry." Al's voice chuckled inside his armor.

With a snicker Ed bumped his right fist against his brother's. "You're a genius, little bro! Just like me!"

_To be continued…_


End file.
